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Odalis

This keeps coming up in comments and emails, and now that he’s officially free and not just disgruntled, it’s worth touching on. Odalis Perez is left-handed and a pitcher. He’s not particularly old, he doesn’t have great stuff but it’s not wretched… on the other hand, what are we hoping the potential is? 100-150 innings of slightly above-average pitching? You’re probably going to do better than that from Ryan Rowland-Smith. Or Jarrod Washburn, for that matter. And that still leaves the new, slimmer Carlos Silva and Miguel Batista.

Given that Perez just refused to play for a $850k contract where he’d have to make the club, I’d guess he wants at least a guaranteed major league deal, and the M’s don’t have a slot to give up, and not a lot of reason to if they did.

I know, for someone who regularly debates the relative merits of backup corner infielders for hundreds of words, that’s weird to say, but I don’t see where he’s worth it. The M’s already have a couple of these guys in hand already. There’s no need for another unless you want to see the Tacoma rotation gain some veteran presence.

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Comments

14 Responses to “Odalis”

bigdaddy on
February 25th, 2009 9:38 pm

I’m new to the site and have enjoyed reading what you have to offer but I’m a Mariner’s fan and I find myself wondering who Jose Batista is. Please fill me in.

tmac9311 on
February 25th, 2009 9:43 pm

I always felt the impact Odalis creates for the Mariners is it frees up the “We need a Veteran Left Hander” slot on the Nationals. Why don’t we help them out by taking Nick Johnson off their hands and giving them Jarrod Washburn and cash to even the salaries

O Dallas you shine with an evil light.
How did you turn a billion steers
into buildings made of mirrors,
and why am I drawn to you tonight?

Mere Tantalisers on
February 25th, 2009 11:33 pm

The thing people seem to forget when looking at the collection of mediocre arms we have stockpiled in Tacoma is they all have some kind of upside. Odalis, on the other hand, not so much really. Picking up pitchers no one wants who can still put it together is one thing, but going after every lefty without an ML contract.. that’s what the Nats do with outfielders.

scott19 on
February 26th, 2009 12:23 am

O Dallas you shine with an evil light

Thanks, Mike…for some reason, that reminded me of the theme song from Dallas — which I’ll now have stuck in my head for the rest of the night. 😮

Though speaking of which, I think either Larry Hagman or Patrick Duffy might have more upside than Old-alis at this point.

The Ancient Mariner on
February 26th, 2009 5:55 am

Although I can see where Odalis is coming from, watching even worse pitchers sign bigger contracts, I agree that he wouldn’t make any sense here; and I suspect that his decision will only end up costing him money.

Paul B on
February 26th, 2009 6:50 am

Unlikely the M’s would get Odalis. If I read the ticker on MLB last night (I was watching the Twins-Red Sox game) it said that Marte cleared waivers and had been assigned to the Minors.

So if the M’s passed on Marte, I think they would pass on anyone else that doesn’t seem to fit.

msb on
February 26th, 2009 7:32 am

Thereâ€™s no need for another unless you want to see the Tacoma rotation gain some veteran presence.

Well, I could be wrong, but I believe Jose Batista is an old, old wooden ship that was used during the Civil War era

+1

Funny thing is, I think I’d rather have an old wooden ship (maybe it could fire its cannons after home runs?) than (Miguel) Batista.

So if the Mâ€™s passed on Marte, I think they would pass on anyone else that doesnâ€™t seem to fit.

Agreed 100%. Marte would fill a need more than Perez. Whatever happened to that guy anyway? Wasn’t he fairly recently considered one of the top LHP bullpen arms in baseball? Just age catching up to him?

philosofool on
February 26th, 2009 10:12 am

Agreed.

The M’s have plenty of back of the rotation guys to fight for a roster spot. They don’t need any more. Given the choice between hoping to develop RRS as a starter and signing Odalis Perez to a one year deal, I’ll take the former. I know “rebuilding” is an ugly word, so let’s say that the Mariners should be thinking about the way that play time contributes to development right now.

Plus, the M’s have all but said there’s no more money in the budget, not even for a $1M starting pitcher.

As something of an aside, I think Perez misjudged the market here. Yeah, he might be better than he was getting paid for, but he’s not that much better and few teams are shopping for his particular package right now. Especially not when that package includes a disposition to walk out on a contract he signed because he petulantly wants more money than he initially agreed to.